Ambitious fledglings, ‘branchers’
I often am asked why some baby birds cannot be reunited with their parents. This question does not have a simple answer, believe me. It would make our lives a lot easier if it did!
The reasons why a chick or nestling has ended up coming to the ground are usually extreme weather events, predation (cats, other birds and sometimes reptiles such as goannas), the nest being damaged and one of the most common reasons is that the baby bird actually jumps out itself when they are not quite ready to fly.
Many native bird species leave the nest of their own accord before they are up and flying. We call these ambitious fledglings, ‘branchers’.
If not experienced, it can be difficult to determine whether a young bird is in trouble or just at the natural branching stage. There are some differences to look for and the critical key to each case is observation.
A brancher is able to flutter or fly short distances, hop and climb up branches to get out of harm’s way. They may appear uncoordinated and ungainly, but they should be able to achieve some or all of these things, particularly by nightfall. They must be able to roost in a relatively safe place at night, usually close by or with their parents.
A brancher will have parent birds keeping a close eye on them. These young birds still require feeding by one or both parents and if you observe long enough, you will see parents return to feed their young. Keep in mind that adult birds may not come close to their young while they are put off by your presence, so observing from a distance is often more fruitful.
Some parent birds will swoop, vocalise and attempt to dissuade you from picking up one of their young. This does not necessarily mean that the young bird is not in trouble. It is natural for birds to protect their offspring.
Therefore, if a bird cannot flutter, climb or hop well enough to get up into a tree, it may need assistance and you need to call for help. If a young bird remains on the ground when darkness approaches, it needs assistance.
Branchers are fully feathered, although their flight and tail feathers are generally not at full length yet and may appear very small compared to the parent birds’. A baby bird who is not feathered but possesses only down or is naked, needs assistance.
If a baby bird cannot stand yet, it needs assistance.
If close observation reveals that there are no parents present, it needs assistance.
In all cases, when in any doubt, please call a registered shelter such as Bohollow for advice and help.
Please do not attempt to raise native baby birds yourself. Different species require special food types and regimes and feeding incorrectly can lead to death. Raising and preparing a bird for release takes experience and again, if not done correctly, can kill them.
When I was called to this tawny frogmouth babe that was discovered on the ground, I originally thought that it would need to come into care. When I realised how advanced it was and that it could indeed fly about hip height for a little distance and that its parents were above in trees, I made the decision to place it as high as I could in the fork of a nearby red gum and let mother and father tawny continue their care. I was in the area for about an hour and before I left, the little tawny had scrambled even higher up the tree branch. I am crossing fingers that it has continued to do alright.
Branchers usually only take a day or so to fly properly but the branching stage is almost more dangerous for them than the defenceless nestling stage. At least in a nest, they are usually concealed and less likely to be noticed by predators. Despite the danger, it is perfectly natural for many species to have branching young and to catch a brancher can be the equivalent of kidnapping for parent birds. In the case of this tawny family, I really felt that I would be stealing the parents’ young if I took him into care, as in a few days, this young bird should be up and flying.
The bat beneath my wings
These photos were taken at the grey-headed flying fox bat colony on the creek at Numurkah recently. The mothers are already giving birth and I managed to snap off some shots of the teeny babes nestled under the safety of their mother’s wings.
Mother bats actually carry their babes around with them until they basically get too heavy to comfortably fly with them clinging to their body. The mothers have nipples under their armpits to feed their young and I am always amazed at how well they seem to carry their temporary load and hide them so expertly under their wings.
Grey-headed flying foxes give birth to a single young, usually around September/October, although Deb and I have seen young born later in the Numurkah colony.
These flying foxes are one of Australia’s top pollinators and they can easily fly up to 50 km in one night, so their pollen dispersal can be great. They are an important aspect of a healthy ecosystem here and we are quite privileged to have such a large camp at Numurkah. The numbers in the colony fluctuate from over a thousand bats to lower levels, depending on the time of year and also whether the Little Red flying foxes are choosing the camp to roost at as well. At the moment, the numbers are high as the females congregate together to give birth.
Look for the babes in the photos, snuggled in against their mother’s body.
